Neil Young’s Solo Acoustic Tour: An Intimate Evening of Deep Tracks

“Better late than never.” Most of us have had this situation when it comes to concerts. I finally saw a lot of bands years (decades) after their heyday: Joe Jackson, Elton John, Van Halen, Rush, Aerosmith, and the two biggies, David Bowie (2004) and Rolling Stones (2005). Time to add another to the list, Neil Young. I’m ashamed to admit I had never seen him. I saw CS&N in 1987, but no Neil. I attended a Stills-Young Band tour show in 1977, but no Neil. (Young abruptly left the tour via a telegram: “Dear Stephen, funny how things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil.”) Would I rather have seen Neil Young raging on electric guitar with Crazy Horse back in the day…of course. But his seemingly spur of the moment solo west coast tour was the opportunity to correct this embarrassing omission on my concert list.

How many solo albums has Neil Young released and how many do you have? He has 43 (!) solo albums to his name, plus 12 live albums, three compilations, four soundtracks, and vaults full of Archives. Not to mention the albums with Buffalo Springfield, CS&N, and the one with Stills (Long May You Run). I have 16 solos (13 LPs and three CDs), Deja Vu, The Best of Buffalo Springfield, and the Stills-Young album. Neil made it clear in the press release announcing this tour that he was going to play songs rarely performed live. I’m all for deep tracks and newer songs by veteran artists, but many people feel cheated if they don’t hear the hits. My friend and Pop Transmission reader MSquared shared with me that at the Santa Barbara show, Neil had a one-word response to a shout-out request for “Old Man:” “Asshole!”

He greeted the crowd with “I’m the Ocean,” and its opening line, “People my age/they don’t do things I do/they go somewhere/while I run away from you.” The song is from Mirror Ball, the 1995 album when that little group from Seattle named Pearl Jam was his back-up band. Song X, also from Mirror Ball, soon followed. If these are deep tracks, it worked for me. The 1990s were also represented with three songs from Sleeps with Angels and two from Ragged Glory. “When I Hold You in My Arms” was a nice surprise from 2002’s Are You Passionate. While playing a happy melody on the piano with guitar strapped on, he spun around a couple times and laid down some nice blues-y licks. He brought us right up to the present with a song from each of his two recent albums – “Don’t Forget Love” from 2021’s Barn and “Love Earth” from 2022’s World Record. Oldies but goodies? Three Buffalo Springfield numbers – “Burned,” “On the Way Home,” and a highlight of the night, “Mr. Soul” played by Mr. Young on an antique pump organ. Yes, it was a night of unexpected pleasures topped off by an acoustic “Heart of Gold,” electric “Ohio,” and back to 1978’s Comes a Time for the last song, “Four Strong Winds.”

As you can see, Neil got dressed up for the night; baggy blue jeans, paint splattered denim jacket, grungy t-shirt, and a pulled down train conductor hat. I would have expected nothing else. His voice sounded pretty good for 77 years old. His command of multiple instruments was on full display as he moved around the stage from one vintage piece to another. He introduced a guitar that Stills gave him in 1970 and a blackened piano that had been in a fire years ago. The pump organ was classic. My friend, Chico, thought he looked like a mad scientist, back to the audience, playing with his hands and feet. We could see his tray of about 10 harmonicas that he would shuffle on and off while bantering that, “I know it doesn’t look like it, but I do know what I’m doing up here.” The lighting was set low to complement the retro vibes of the stage set. A lit-up model train going around in circles remained in motion as Neil left the stage.

The baby boomers were not disappointed. About as loud as a capacity crowd of 3,300 at the Vina Robles Amphitheater can be. And take a look at my photos! Can my seats be any closer? No. Special thanks to Chico for navigating the increasingly frustrating and stressful ticket-buying experience and nabbing us seats in the first row for a show that sold out in minutes. (Far from the first time he has performed such magic.) A rock legend, beautiful venue, and the front row. An unforgettable evening indeed.

(Upcoming tour dates: July 15th, Greek Theater Berkeley, followed by a few shows in OR and WA, before coming back to CA at Napa and Tahoe.)

D² Rating ◼◼◼◼☐

Trivia: Neil Young had his first success as a songwriter in 1967 for “Flying on the Ground is Wrong,” written for what fellow Canadian band?

Answer: The Guess Who

Trivia #2: What baffling, experimental album did Neil Young release in 1982?

Answer: Trans (Its use of vocoders, synthesizers, and electronic beats was received with mixed, mostly negative reviews.)